30 entries from September 2007

September 29, 2007

Over the past few months we've seen lots of diocesan missioners moving on in their ministry, and so a fair few new people are entering the missioners network, or have done so in the past year.

In Spring 2008 we will be arranging one or two missioners' induction days for people who have been in post for 18 months or less, and for those who work in other fields but who have also been given some part of the missioner's job to do. The planning group for these days includes Robin Gamble, Jean Kerr and Bishop John Went.

Dates and details will follow soon.

The National Missioners Conference 2008 will take place from Monday June 30 - Wednesday July 2, at the Maison d'Accueil, Merville, France. No, it won't break the bank to get there - but it will be an extraordinary adventure as usual.

THIS planning group includes Janet Russell, Tim Sledge, Robert Jones and Bp John.

Please put the dates in the diary and watch this space for further details.

Following the recently published "Henley" research on "bridges and barriers to church weddings", the Archbishops' Council has authorised a major project to follow up the findings and more generally to pursue the missional opportunities presented by church weddings.

A task group including Gillian Oliver and Suzanne Gray from Communications, and Paul Bayes and Sue Burridge from Mission & Public Affairs, will be working intensively on this over the next two years.

This is part of a wider attempt by people in the national church offices to offer "Innovations for Growth" to the church. Watch this space for lots, lots more.

‘Start as you mean to go on’ – book explores changing face of Christian initiationChurch challenged to use new opportunities presented by infant and adult baptism

The nature of baptism itself is never-changing but its place within the life of the nation and the Church has changed significantly in the last century, a new book from the Church of England has found.

In Connecting with Baptism, experienced Church ministers explore the most recent statistics and research into the role of baptism in the Church, revealing: • Significantly more infant baptisms as a proportion of births take place in rural dioceses such as Carlisle, Hereford and Lincoln than in urban areas• Fewer than 20 per cent of infants are baptised today compared to 65 per cent in 1900, while the numbers of older children and adults getting baptised has risen from 11,000 in 1900 to 46,200 in 2004• The families bringing their children for baptism today represent a significant section of society with a past Church connection, open to the Church’s message and the idea of getting involved again – and churches are developing effective ways of capturing and nurturing this interest• For some families today, the baptism of a child represents an opportunity for the first public acknowledgement of the parents’ relationship, and churches can use this an opportunity to promote marriage.

This practical book blends accessible explanation of the Church’s policy on baptism and the theology underpinning it with close attention to the details of preparation, planning, choreographing and following-up of baptisms for infants, children and adults. It covers topics including: the role of godparents; helping those who are baptised to grow in faith; and Christian initiation in fresh expressions of Church .

In an innovative design format for Church House Publishing, Connecting with Baptism is also divided into sections with Biblical and liturgical references displayed in a wide side margin, and helpful links to other relevant sections of the book clearly marked to help readers dip into the text as a reference book as well as a scholarly work prompting reflection on what the Church says and does in baptism.

The book – edited by the Ven Trevor Lloyd, former Archdeacon of Barnstaple, the Revd Mark Earey, Liturgy Tutor at Queen's College Birmingham, and Canon Ian Tarrant, Senior Anglican Chaplain at the University of Nottingham – argues that baptism is about ‘starting as you mean to go on’ within the Christian faith. It also argues that baptism should lie at the heart of all that the Church does, a critical “integrity between sacrament and life” which should constantly be demonstrated by the Church.

The Rt Revd Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester, says: “Baptism is recovering its place at the heart of Christian life and liturgy. But there is a huge gap between some of our baptismal practice and the rich possibilities Common Worship envisages. Connecting with Baptism is a comprehensive tool for bridging that gap. Every parish should use it.”

Connecting with Baptism – A practical guide to Christian initiation today, priced £14.99 (ISBN 978-071514110-6), is available from Christian bookshops including Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN, telephone 020 7799 4064, email bookshop@c-of-e.org.uk, or on the web at: www.chbookshop.co.uk (mail order available).

Having just returned from meeting with prayer leaders at the International Prayer Council and praying at the United Nations in New York, I am more and more convinced of the need for us to pray as never before to see the turning of the tide across our nations!

I therefore attach the next quarter's prayer themes for Friday Focus on the attached colour pdf format. Please note you can access word, large print and b/w versions on our website (under year of prayer). If you need the print version you know where to get it!

I have just learned that Exeter Cathedral is having a HOPE 2008 event on 31st December so that brings our Cathedrals to York, Leicester, Peterborough and Exeter as being definite, with Glasgow waiting to confirm and of events in Hereford and Soul Survivor in Watford.

We have printed 'A Declaration of Hope for 2008' on the back page of Friday Focus and I am letting all know that other resources for more informal gatherings will soon be on the website!

I hope that you will not mind this reminder of our upcoming day conference focussing on missional leadership. Eddie Gibbs once commented: ‘We were trained to map read on well marked roads not navigate stormy seas.’Many leaders today fel just that - all at sea and unsure how to lead effectively in a rapidly changing world. The question of how to make culturally relevant mission part of the DNA of the local church is a demanding one and it is for this reason that we have brought together some of the foremost thinkers and speakers in this area to help us consider these key issues together.With contributions from Peter Neilson and Nick Cuthbert we will explore a number of subjects including;• Understanding these strange times • The heart of the missional leader • Releasing your church in mission • Changing a church culture • Training and releasing younger leaders • Avoiding burnout and keeping saneThere will of course be significant opportunity for discussion, questions, interaction and networking. Each day starts with registration from 9.15am, first session at 9.45am and will end by 4.00pm. Lunch will be provided. Why not come as a team (discounts available). Full details and book on line at http://www.run.org.uk/envision/FutureC/MissionalLeadership.aspx or telephone the RUN office on 0870 7873635

Please do feel free to forward this e mail on to other contacts or networks that you may have that may be interested in joining us for this day.

September 16, 2007

Here's the latest flyer for the National Anglican Church Planting conference on October 4 in London. The northern NACP day, originally scheduled for October 10, has now been cancelled. Please encourage as many as possible to attend the October 4 day at St Mary's Bryanston Square.

Krish Kandiah is the new Churches in Mission director for the Evangelical Alliance in England and has a blog at http://krishk.wordpress.com/

This is a significant and long awaited appointment in evangelism network. Krish's blog has the strap line 'writing, thinking, empowering' which indicates some of his priorities. He has written the book 'Destiny: what is life all about?' which is also described on the blog.

Previously
to his appointment as Executive Director: Churches in Mission for the
UK Evangelical Alliance, Dr Krish Kandiah was the Director of the
Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and also Tutor in Mission and
Evangelism at Wycliffe Hall. He was also a member of the Oxford
University Theology faculty.

Krish has worked with students in the UK with Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, and in Albania with the International
Fellowship of Evangelical Students, before becoming pastor of a
multi-cultural church in Harrow. He is still a regular speaker at
university missions, and has wide experience in evangelism and cross
cultural mission.

ReSource magazine appears three times a year for a subscription of £12. It builds into a library of resources on key topics, and includes testimony, poetry, art, book reviews and bible studies as well as articles by experienced practitioners on the mission and ministry of the church. Past topics have included Mission, Worship, Prayer and Spirituality, Healing and Deliverance, and others. For more details and to read some of the articles online visit ReSource. The next issue will be on the Gifts of the Spirit, and the following one on The Journey of Faith.

Do you want space to rethink through what mission and church could looklike?

ReSource trains people who are engaging with mission in the emerging culture and re-imagining church from the ground up. The training is based around 5 weekends visiting different pioneering churches aroundthe country. It's an opportunity to:

* Meet up with others who are on a similar journey

* Build on insights from cross-cultural mission

* Re-imagine church and mission

* Develop spiritual tools for the road

It's a year long course helping you develop and apply skills for your context. Each of the 5 ReSource weekends includes training, coaching, worship and teaching.

New for 2007/8 is an accredited training option with Oasis, and a cross-cultural experience in Europe with CMS.

We have been developing this kind of training over the last three years and found leaders and leadership teams have really benefited from meeting up with others involved in similar ministries, as well as theinput and coaching from some of the most experienced trainers and practitioners in Fresh Expressions, youth ministry, cross cultural mission and emerging church.

Fleur Dorrell at Mothers' Union writes:Hi Paul - just wondering whether your network might be interested in our new Advent book for the Bible Reading Fellowship - and Jane Williams has done a good endorsement on the back cover too - These reflections are learned and light-hearted in equal measure. As we wait for God’s coming among us in the birth of Jesus, Fleur helps us to see how God has patiently prepared throughout history for this moment and how we, too, can prepare to welcome Jesus into our world and our lives. Jane Williams, Lambeth Palace

Press release from Alpha UK on their TV ad - which you can view at www.alpha.org

The UK’s first mainstream TV commercial for Christianity will be seen by millions of people across the nation during the next fortnight. As well as being shown on Channel Four, it is also appearing 58 times on the E4 and E4+1 digital channels and on 2,200 cinema screens nationwide for a week, starting today (Friday, September 7).

The commercial will also appear on screens in hundreds of bars nationwide and hundreds of buses in London and Birmingham.

The 60 second advertisement is for the popular Alpha course now running in 7,000 UK churches of all denominations across the UK.

The Alpha course is a 15 session introduction to Christianity for non-churchgoers run by churches of every major denomination. It is supported by senior church leaders around the world including the Archbishop of Canterbury and many Roman Catholic Cardinals. More than 10 million people are now estimated to have completed the course, which originated in an Anglican parish in London.

The advertisement depicts human life as a conveyor belt from birth to death, incorporating many wry humorous touches. It was created by Alastair Duckworth, 24, a young Alpha supporter.

Supper parties and other events are being organised by local churches in thousands of locations across the UK – including hotels, sports centres and prisons – to promote the course.

More than two million people in the UK have attended an Alpha course and an Ipsos MORI survey has revealed that 23 per cent of the British population now recognise Alpha as a Christian course. This is the tenth annual national advertising campaign.

The campaign is being financed by churches and charitable trusts and Christian benefactors.

Alpha UK Director Rebecca Stewart said, ‘With an increasing number of young people in their 20s and 30s attending Alpha courses, television and cinema advertising is ideal for us to increase the profile of the course among those who are most interested.’

Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of the course, said ‘We have heard many wonderful stories of people – many of them young – whose lives have been changed by God through the Alpha course in churches of all denominations throughout the country.

‘These annual initiatives are intended to make it easier for church members to offer a personal invitation to their friends. All the evidence shows that they are working.’

Lucy Moore ("Messy Church") has this request:I'm writing a book for BRF on all-age worship. It’s not a set of service outlines but something to encourage ordinary people in ordinary churches to have a go.

I’d like to pepper the text with short (100-500 word) examples of real-life all-age church situations of different sorts and sizes, ie radical whole church set-ups, more ordinary churches coping with more traditional approaches, and individual examples of situations (one service, a prayer, a church meal or meeting… even a conversation) which have gone really badly or really well and that other people might learn from. It’s not so much theological treatises I need, more ‘This is what happened to us’ testimonies. Stuff that’s gone wrong Is just as heartening as what has gone well.

If anybody has any contribution they’d be kind enough to make, could they be emailed to me on lucy.moore@brf.org.uk before the end of November please? I will be very grateful for anything that comes my way.

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. This from the Bishop of Coventry:Acting ArchdeaconIn view of the dearth of archdeacons in Coventry diocese this autumn (Mark Bryant off to be Bishop of Jarrow in September, and Michael Paget-Wilkes on study leave), the Bishop of Coventry has appointed the Rev’d Roger Morris to be acting archdeacon for the whole diocese for the period September to December. He will also continue to head up the Department for Parish Development and Evangelism, though, for obvious reasons, at a somewhat reduced level.Any matters that are deemed to be archidiaconal in nature should be referred to Roger, though it is clearly not realistic to expect him to know the answer to every question!

Here in the missioners network we know that it's totally realistic to expect Roger to know at least five answers to every question. All the same, please pray for him as he shoulders this burden for four months.

As the preparation for HOPE 08 gathers pace, here are endorsements from some of our bishops; feel free to use them if it helps where you are. If your own bishop or bishops have other endorsements, please send them in to the MPA office.

‘Hope 2008 is a really remarkable vision that has grown out of the success of a number of local urban projects. Christians have to learn how to give an absolutely clear answer to the question, 'why is this good news?'; 'Soul in the City' and all the related enterprises that have been going on are a wonderful example of how to give such an answer, in terms of the building of responsible positive communities. Now, with Hope 2008, this vision is being extended, with great boldness to the whole country - and even more widely. It deserves the warmest welcome. I thank God for the inspiration that has driven it and wish every blessing to all involved.’ + Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury

‘For me partnership is really at the heart and I want to invite and encourage every person who knows and owns the name of Jesus Christ to become a partner of Hope’Archbishop of York - Most Rev John Sentamu

‘Hope is a brilliant initiative that deserves our total support, and could make a huge difference to whole communities across the UK. It is the Christian faith making a difference in deed and Word. It will foster good and imaginative local initiatives. Do support it!’The Rt Rev Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes

‘I am glad to commend Hope 2008 which is a special gift to the churches and communities of Devon, and it will enable us to express something of Christ’s transforming love to those amongst whom we live and work’. Rt Rev Bob Evans, Bishop of Crediton

‘Hope 2008 provides a practical way for Christians up and down the country to demonstrate their faith by offering service to their local community. Co-ordinated resources and support are available so it is easy to get involved. It is my hope that many churches will take up this invitation so that the hope we proclaim in words may be matched by our actions.’ Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading

‘……..Hope 2008 comes at just the right time. Here is a national call to focus on God’s core activity – transforming lives and communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Hope 2008 is a wonderful opportunity for Churches Together in Devon to act as one body and speak with one voice in witness of our one Lord. I strongly commend all local churches to join together in this venture.’Rt Rev Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter

“A great strength of the churches in this country is that we are present in every community, rural, urban and suburban – that gives us a tremendous base from which to serve the individuals and communities around us. Hope08 has the potential to inspire us to do that more effectively and wholeheartedly and is a wonderful gift to the churches.”Rt Rev James Langstaff – Bishop of Lynn

‘Hope Bradford is a brilliant project and a great concept – to say to people in this city, where there are so many people without hope, that there is hope in God.’‘We all have to get involved. How can people hear the good news of God in Christ unless we who have been touched by that love of God, we who have been infected by the hope of God, unless we share it, then nobody hears.’‘People say in Bradford, “It won’t work here”. People feel that they’re at the end of the line somehow – just like the railway stations. That’s not the case, because our God is a God of hope.’Rt Rev David James, Bishop of Bradford

Our Vision for Action initiative in the Diocese of St Albans encourages churches to catch God’s vision and to take action in response. Hope 2008 is a great resource for doing just that. We are commending it widely as an excellent practical mission project.The Right Reverend Richard Inwood, Bishop of Bedford